Dragonheart
by x-DragonSoul-x
Summary: One-shot, possible two-shot. The Battle of Trinity brought much chaos and destruction and with it, many sacrifices. But none so close to home to Seph and Madison as the sacrifice of one of their closest friends... -Jason's Last Words-


**Author Note: **This idea originally came into being when I read that near last chapter of the Dragon Heir and didn't actually realize that Jason had died until it showed his burial. I had go "Wait? What?" and back up a chapter or two. I didn't believe he was actually dead! It just happened so suddenly, and I figured, "Oh he's like a main character, he wouldn't actually die." But then they were buring him and-!

I think the biggest thing that actually bugged me was they he didn't get any last words. And thus, this fanfiction was born.  
I wrote part up it, but then slid it onto the back burner, only to recently find it. After awhile of mulling it over, I'm contented with the way Jason died in the book. But I thought it would be a shame just to abandon this fic that I'd spent so much time on, so I finished it.

I did actually go back and reread that part in the book, several times, so this is, in essence, a re-write of the battle of Trinity. I used some of the same lines as in the book but tried to be original when it came to the prose. The end part is all new however.

And if you actually read all of that, I salute you! Sorry for such a long author note!

**Disclaimer: **Cinda Williams Chima wrote all of the Heir books. I just write fanfiction.

I may make this into a two-shot, but we'll see if I get around to it. Please read, enjoy, and review.

* * *

Dragonheart  
An Heir Trilogy Fanfiction

Everything was happening so fast. Sprays of multicolored light flared across the field. All around, the harsh sound of metal slicing skin was heard, along with the many dying screams of Wizards and Warriors alike, the little town of Trinity at its center.

The Sanctuary was on the verge of being breached, the Roses had turned on each other, the lines of good and evil had blurred, and now it was nothing but a bloodied frenzy. All of them wanting possession of the Dragonheart and not caring the lengths they had to go to obtain it.

Aside from the ghost Warriors, the two living Warriors, Jack and Ellen, were now coated in sweat and blood, not all of it their own. Protected by Ellen's blade, Madison stood behind her. The dagger that Ellen had given her dangled loosely in her hand.

A crackling sound to her right signaled another blast of Wizard magic. She ducked, covering her head and squeezing her eyes shut. Ellen's sword flashed above her, driving the bolt back to its caster.

The surge of magic above her made her cry out. She could feel its power. She could feel it all around her. Writhing and raging. She covered her ears, trying to drown it out.

Ellen gripped her firmly on the shoulder. Madison looked over to see the Warrior's mouth moving. She was trying to tell her something, but over the din of the battle, she couldn't understand what she was saying. Then Jack appeared behind her. Ellen turned and focused all her attention on trying to hear him.

Madison shrank back as Jack's sword made a wide arc, taking out three Wizards who were closing in. Ellen too, was repelling the oncoming Wizards along with Jack. Their swords danced in beautiful but deadly unison.

Madison moved back more, giving them room. Her hand prickled in anticipation where skin met the hilt of the dagger, but Madison couldn't muster up the courage to wield it. Her mind was changed a moment later. A sudden impediment told her she ran into something. Or someone.

She whirled around. What she found was not what she expected. It was a boy, younger than her by a few years, suggested by his shortness. His face still had childish proportions, bloated like a baby's. But on that baby face was painted an unnervingly greedy smile.

"Hello there," he sneered, pushing his round spectacles back into place.

Madison again retreated, nervously biting her lip. Her hand tightened on the hilt of the dagger. She drew it up against him; he reacting with a high-pitched giggle.

Not to be dissuaded, Madison lunged forward and made a swift but uncoordinated strike. The fabric of the boy's sleeve ripped open, fresh blood staining the soft white color.

"Oh come now. You of all people can do better than that." The greedy smile never faded.

"Devereaux! Come away from there!"

Madison's eyes darted to the source of the shout. She found the tall form of Claude D'Orsay barreling toward them.

Using the distraction as an opening, Devereaux surged forward. Madison screamed and in an instant, Ellen was there. She shoved her way between them, knocking them both off balance. Madison fell to the ground a couple paces away, but Devereaux only staggered back, soon recovering. He raised his arms toward Ellen, the glow of magic already gathering in his hands.

Madison heard Jack shout, then the flash of wizard flame send Ellen careening back, colliding with the ground at an awkward angle.

Devereaux pushed his spectacles up again. "That's one!" He announced. A twisted gleam shone in his eyes. "Who would have known Warriors die so easi…"

Jack did not hesitate. There was a glint of steel, and Madison saw the keen edge of Shadowslayer skewer through the young Wizard's gut. She was frozen with shock, not even flinching when warm droplets of blood spattered on her face.

Jack silently withdrew his blade from the corpse. The body tumbled to the ground, a smile still etched in its baby-like features.

Madison slowly rose, eyes fixed on Jack. He didn't return her gaze.

There was a scream, "Devereaux!" Jack found Claude D'Orsay staring, horrified, at his son's corpse, which Jack, with his dripping sword, stood over.

D'Orsay's head snapped up. Dull eyes suddenly ignited and fixed themselves in a glare the likes that Jack had never seen before.

His mouth contorted into a snarl. "You killed him! You cross-whelped barbarian, you've killed my son!"

He stumbled at first, but then as feeling returned to his body, stalked forward, murder in his eyes. His shoulders were tensely angled and a small stream of blood trickled down where he had been biting his lip. Magic dripped like molten lava from his fingertips and he thrust them forward, uttering a loud cry.

Jack moved between Ellen's unconscious body and the oncoming attack, brandishing Shadowslayer. There was no way to stop it, he knew. He said a quick prayer and faced the rush of fire surging towards them.

But the magic suddenly curved before striking its mark. It was thrown off to Jack's left. Or pulled.

Jack found that Madison was standing a ways away on his left, and the bolt of magic had traveled between them. They exchanged shocked glanced at the unexpected gravitational effect, Madison apparently as surprised as he was.

But they were drawn back into the matter at hand when D'Orsay unleashed a loud string of curses. He prepared for another attack.

Jack braced himself and Madison brandished the dagger, only to find it was no longer in her hands. She gasped and frantically searched for it, thinking it might have fallen on the ground.

A shimmer in the air caught both Jack and Madison's eyes. They watched bewildered, as Jason materialized from thin air behind D'Orsay; the _dyrn sefa _around his neck glimmering. Madison almost shouted his name, but he placed a finger to his lips, silencing her. His trademark playful grin was on his face, and in his manacled hands, Madison's dagger.

_He escaped! _Madison was both relieved and surprised to see him. But also alarmed, as she realized what he was about to do.

Before D'Orsay could launch his next attack, Jason leapt forward and bowled him over. "Ugh!" he exclaimed as he hit the ground. "Haley!"

"That's 'Mr. Haley' to you, you revolting despot!" Jason gripped the dagger in both hands and brought it down. It pierced the flesh near D'Orsay's collar bone, sending up a spray of blood.

D'Orsay screeched in pain, trying one last attempt to shake Jason off. He gripped the fabric of Jason's shirt and shouted the words that unleashed a jet of Wizard flame.

"Jason!" Madison could be silent no longer. She rushed forward, only to be stopped by a wall of fire.

Jason cried out as he was engulfed. That gave D'Orsay the opening he needed. He shoved Jason aside and attempted to get up. The dagger still protruded from his collar bone, a heavy stream of blood staining his fine clothes.

He managed to stand for only a moment. Then his eyes became hazy and he fell to the ground and became still. The wall of Wizard flame died with him.

Madison unshielded her eyes, seeing two bodies in front of her. D'Orsay's and one that lay farther away, charred but still recognizable.

"Jason!" She ran to him, ignoring Jack when he tried to stop her.

She crumpled to her knees next to the body. "Oh my God!" The Wizard flame had left his clothes blackened and blotchy red burns all over his face, his hands… everywhere. "Oh my God, you can't be dead! Please don't be dead!"

At that moment, the gate to Trinity opened. Seph emerged from it, looking solemn as he gazed across the battlefield.

His power swirled around him in a thin mist as he traveled into the chaos. The attacks of the enemy Roses just melted away when they came in contact with it.

Seph made his way through the battle, the people parting like the Red Sea before him. He soon came upon Jack, beating back the Roses with magic while carrying the unconscious Ellen over his shoulder.

Jack briefly informed him of the grim state of the battle before adding, "Jason's down."

"What?" Seph's blood turned to ice.

Jack nudged his head in the direction of someone hovering over an ashen body.

Seph's mouth went dry. He hastily nodded to Jack before making his way over to them.

"Madison!"

She looked up as Seph came to kneel next to her and Jason, Seph's misty shield enveloping them all.

"Seph!" She was nearly hyperventilating. "Seph, he's d-"

Just then, Jason made a coarse dry sound, something like a cough. "…That was such as lame line," he rasped. His head stiffly turned to D'Orsay's corpse.

"Jason!" Madison gasped.

Seph breathed a sigh of relief.

With a groan from him, Madison carefully propped his head up on her knees. Both she and Seph were scared for their friend. Their concern showed on their faces.

"Heh," Jason's face broke into a weak smirk. "I could really go for a smoke right now."

Both Seph and Madison stiffened, thinking that they had heard some kind of last wish that they couldn't grant.

Jason picked up on this. "Hm, maybe not. People keep telling me how bad it is for me." He sighed, a rough, grating sound. "Maybe one day I'll kick the habit."

Madison, who had been fighting back tears, suddenly released a shrill sob.

"Hey, don't cry. S'gonna be okay." He looked up at her with veiled green eyes. "The good guys always win right?"

Madison continued to sob, albeit a little quieter. A small smile found its way to her face.

Seph looked down at the hellish burns all over Jason's body.

He took notice of this. "…Cant even feel 'em." But his brow as furrowed and there was a painful look in his eyes.

"You're lying…" Seph whispered.

Jason was silent for a moment, his breathing coming in rasps. "You have other things to worry about. Don't waste your time on me." Being unable to move his head, he simply looked away with his eyes. "This is just the way it is. There's bound to be a few sacrifices…"

"No!" Madison stared at him miserably, afraid to touch him but wanting so badly to do something for him.

"Jason…." Seph could feel the power that he was emitting seeping into Jason. He knew that it was the only thing that was keeping him alive at this point; how he had the strength to speak so freely when he was so close to death. But even so, Seph could feel Jason slipping away.

No, he wouldn't let it happen. He tried to increase the amount of magic that seeped from him, to give Jason more of his power. The effort was taxing but, no, he wouldn't let Jason…

"Stop."

Seph's eye opened and peered down at his friend, astonished. Jason could not read minds but he seemed to be responding to Seph's own thoughts.

"You don't need me anymore." He spoke to both of them but he met Seph's eyes. "I've played my part."

A wordless understanding passed between them. Seph dipped his head, unsure if he would be able to comply with the request.

Jason saw the confliction in both of them. "I'm okay with it guys. There wasn't much else I wanted to do with my life anyway. The only thing left is for the Roses to be stopped. And since I'm not going to be around…" His eyes once again fell on Seph. "I need you to promise me."

"But Jace…"

"Promise me." His voice, while weak, was definite and final.

Seph chewed on his lip for a moment before he was able to say, "I promise, Jason."

"Good. That's all I wanted to hear." He laid his head back, face contented.

Seph slowed the flow of power between them, until gradually, he stopped it altogether.

Jason drew in one last deep breath of air. "I'll hold you to it…"

His eyes closed.

Madison, realizing that he was gone, dipped her head low until it touched his forehead, her tears rolling down onto his face. Seph too, found his vision blurred.

But the struggle around them began to creep its way back in along with the realization that they were in the middle of a battlefield. Seph's magic power had created a force field around them and protected them from any harm.

Seph nodded to Madison. She carefully got up and watched with a tear-streaked face.

Crossing himself, Seph removed his coat and wrapped his friend in it. Then he knelt down and gently took Jason into his arms.

As he stood, he looked to Madison. "Let's go."

They crossed the battlefield together, back to the gates of the Sanctuary.


End file.
